The 7 Best Salads You Can Order at Fast-Casual Restaurants

Once upon a time, your MO when eating out was that you couldn't go wrong if you ordered a salad. What's there to mess up when it comes to greens and veggies? you thought.

Fried chicken, bacon bits, and sugar-filled dressing—that's what.

These days, we're getting the message loud and clear: The salad is often the biggest calorie bomb on a restaurant's menu. However, there are some good options out there—you just have to know what to look for, says Jennifer Glockner, RD, a dietitian in Los Angeles and author of Teddy Tries a Veggie, the first book in the Smartee Plate e-book series for kids. If you're trying to eat clean, here are your best options.

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1. Saladworks Autumn Harvest

Salad Works

There's something seriously satisfying—albeit spendy—about this build-your-own salad joint. Yet it can be easy to throw your clean-eating ways out the window once you're looking at those little tubs of house-made croutons and bacon bits. Enter this option, which is a great source of lean protein (turkey), fiber (greens, corn, carrots, and apple chips), and healthy fats (sunflower seeds). Make this salad even healthier by going light on the dried cranberries, which will cut down on the sugar content, and using only one tablespoon of dressing rather than the usual two or more.

2. Applebee's Thai Shrimp Salad

Leigh Beisch/Applebee's

With protein-packed shrimp, edamame, and almonds tossed with greens and chili lime vinaigrette, you've got a tasty and healthy option here. Glockner recommends holding the wonton strips to decrease the fat. "Also, this salad is a bit high in sodium at 730 mg," she says, "so you'll want to keep your sodium intake in check the rest of the day if you know you're going to order this option." (Try this pesto shrimp recipe to satisfy your shrimp cravings.)

Definitely better than a burrito: This mix of romaine, iceberg, and red and green cabbage—topped with grilled chicken, roasted corn, black beans, mango, jicama, pico de gallo, queso fresco, and mango citrus vinaigrette—is a great combo of fruit and veggies, says Glockner. "For a health boost, add avocado," she says. "And if you're watching your saturated fat intake, you could easily eliminate the queso fresco and still have a delicious salad."

At a restaurant where the Grilled Chicken Tostada Salad has almost 1,200 calories and 15 g of saturated fat, you might think it's impossible to order a bowl of greens that isn't adulterated with deep-fried corn and cream. Not so, says Glockner: This one's filled with clean veggies like asparagus, green beans, tomato, cucumber, roasted beets, and radicchio, and it's only 390 calories with 6 g of saturated fat. To scale back on that fat content even more, nix the Cheddar.

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5. TGI Fridays Lunch Seasonal Harvest Apple Chicken Salad

TFIFridays

Similar to the other healthy salad orders here, this one is filled with good, clean eats like mixed greens (including kale) and grilled chicken. It's topped with goat cheese, green apples, sea-salted chopped almonds, and a mix of crunchy rice noodles, dried apricots, and pumpkin seeds. To keep the fat in check, hold the rice noodles, says Glockner, and if you really want to get a clean-eating gold star, ask for plain almonds.

6. Panera Bread Ancient Grain, Arugula & Chicken Salad

Panera Bread

This salad is loaded with nutrients from a nice mixture of colorful fruits (red grapes and apple), veggies (arugula and cabbage slaw) and clean, lean protein (chicken raised without antibiotics). Plus, it's tossed with a low-fat, low-sodium white balsamic vinaigrette and topped with pumpkin seeds, which give you a nice dose of antioxidants, fiber, and healthy fats. "A whole serving—not a half size—contains just 420 calories and 300 mg of sodium, and it has a whopping 6 g of fiber and 25 g of protein," says Glockner. "It's a great choice." (Here's why Panera is quickly becoming one of the cleanest places to eat.)

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7. Nature's Table Spicy Asian Filled with baby spinach, all-natural chicken breast, cabbage, red pepper, scallions, and sliced almonds, this bowl of salad is filled with healthy stuff, says Glockner. Of course, any clean-eater knows the words "all-natural" in front of "chicken" tends to mean squat. However, at just 246 calories, 9 g of total fat, 5 g of fiber, and 24 g of protein, this is a better option than most.

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